January 2018 TH E
Welcome Expanding horizons... We bring you our second edition of the Edge Bulletin this academic year, once again packed with evidence of the many varied forms the Edge is taking in schools across the country. Reading this term’s bulletin will give you a fantastic insight into how the programme can look across stages and in a range of settings.
We start with two case studies from primary schools - one impressive example of a school embedding skills development alongside academic excellence. Another details their successful launch of the programme focused on Raj Resilience and the immediate impact visible as a result. Contact i Our first secondary case study gives details on a launch of the programme across year information 7, initially with a focus on leadership. In this case, by getting every student to read out a speech in application of leadership roles within the school, the whole process changed Email: and quieter students were brought to the fore. What a way to show students that the [email protected] playing field is level and, as one Leading Edge Coordinator says in a later article, “Theodore Geisel describes our situation perfectly. All young people have the innate Hannah ability to stand out from the crowd. They just need to find the opportunity.” 07778 703319 We hear from students themselves as to what exactly the Edge means to them – one Lixi of whom states that the Edge has changed her view of education: whilst she knows 07717 724231 she must work hard to get the best grades, she thinks it will be the LORIC skills that will Amy allow her to use them in later life. 07827 317155 Finally, we have two case studies on an issue that screams at us from all corners – PiXL website: wellbeing. One will provide ideas on how to implement a wellbeing strategy within your www.pixl.org.uk school and a second is an example of a school taking a regional lead and running a conference for staff and students.
We hope you enjoy reading about these expanding educational horizons and do contact us if you need any details.
The Edge Team Implementing the Primary Edge Green Park
Working on the Edge at Green Park! Green Park Community Primary School in Dover could, to people that don’t know it well, appear to be a tough place to teach. 80% Free School Meals, on a large social housing estate. However, parents, children and staff who have crossed the threshold all agree that it is the exact opposite. In February 2017, Ofsted visited the school and rated it as ‘Outstanding’ in every area. Being a member of the PiXL family has played a major role in the school’s success. Engaging with The Edge has given children at the school a focus and opportunity that many of them would not have The kinds of things that stopped social mobility and otherwise. prevented our young people from achieving their full Head Teacher, Richard Hawkins, describes how the potential. You don’t lose resilience overnight - it’s a school became involved with The Edge: life-time process and so would building these skills up in our children be. It would take dedication, but the We heard about The Edge at a PiXL conference a few results would really make the difference. years ago, and my ears pricked up when I listened to the speaker talking about Leadership, Organisation, We began by looking at why previous attempts to Resilience, Initiative and Communication. These were address these issues were not as successful as we words my Senior Leadership Team had been using had wished. The Children’s University was a good over the past few months when identifying areas for example of such a project. It ticked all the boxes, but our school improvement plan. Being a school in a we had little success. Why? Analysis is key to moving highly deprived area presents challenges daily, but forward. Where the Children’s University failed to these were long-term issues we were talking about. meet the needs of our children was that their parents
Green Park has a unique leadership Around these four key aims, we structure in that we do not have subject established four Thematic Learning co-ordinators. We organise the school Teams (or TLTs). staff around our four key aims: 1. To deliver high quality teaching across Innovations Team: with a focus on aim 1, the school through innovation and and with responsibility for English, creativity. mathematics and ICT. 2. To ensure the wellbeing of every child, Pastoral Team: with a focus on aim 2, family and member of staff. and with responsibility for AEN. 3. To bring the wider world into our Cultural Team: with a focus on aim 3, school and to take our school into the and with responsibility for humanities and community. the arts. 4. To ensure that we are all fit, well and Sports and Health Team: with a focus on healthy, both in mind and in body. aim 4, and with responsibility for science and PE.
2 Implementing the Primary Edge Green Park
weren’t able to provide them with the opportunities needed outside school. Not because they were lazy or apathetic, but simply because they couldn’t afford to do it. Even when an event was free, they couldn’t afford the transport to get the children there. So, the Edge gave us a means to enable children to engage with key skills in school. (See table on opposite page.) The teams are made up of teachers, teaching assistants and Governors. They meet every three weeks and School Improvement Projects are shared amongst the team by the team leader. This gives all teachers and staff the opportunity to lead on an area and to develop their leadership skills through this work, supported by the rest of the team. It also provides a ready source of future leaders for both Green Park and other schools. The Edge fell under the remit of the Sports and Healthy schools team and Michelle Barnes, one of the Year 3 teaching team, took on the role of Edge Co-ordinator. She began by launching the project in a full staff meeting and then met with phase teams to discuss how they could implement it. We began by Ofsted said: launching initially in Year 3 and 4, before moving to - Pupils develop excellent personal skills. They are nurtured the whole school in the second year. and thrive as well-rounded individuals. They are friendly, confident and well mannered. They behave exceptionally Time is a great pressure in all schools and, through well, feel safe and are respectful and caring of each other and monitoring, it became clear that having the Edge adults. as a separate lesson wasn’t working as well as we - The broad and balanced curriculum successfully develops pupils’ personal skills as well as their academic excellence. would like. We talked to the teams and they felt that Learning based around interesting themes, topics and texts it would be better if we could incorporate the Edge helps to motivate and inspire pupils. into daily lessons. So, we set about planning these - Pupils develop as exceptionally well-rounded individuals and opportunities. Teachers worked together to include confident, self-assured and resilient learners. They thrive in the Edge in lesson plans and encouraged each other a happy, calm and caring environment, enjoy all that they do, to be creative in their thinking. and have excellent attitudes towards learning. There were obvious opportunities, such as PE its grounds and it was quickly transformed into Green lessons, for children to work on their leadership and Park’s own Forest School. Children spend one day communication, but teachers thought wider than this a week for one term each year taking part in Forest and started to provide children chances to work on School, as well as Forest School Club that runs every resilience in maths and to think about organisation Friday after school. in a literacy lesson. Extra-curricular activities (which are a key part of Green Park life) offered bountiful If you walk around Green Park, you will see the LORIC opportunities to work on LORIC. characters in every corridor. They have become part of what we do every day, as has the Edge. In 2016, one teacher and two teaching assistants undertook training to become qualified Forest School I would highly recommend the Edge to every PiXL Teachers. The school has an area of woodland within school. It really does make a difference. – Richard Hawkins, Headteacher, Green Park Community Primary School.
3 Our PiXL Edge Journey Forster Park Primary
Forster Park’s Edge Journey In May 2017, we had a staff meeting where we attempting to complete discussed what life skills we felt our children needed some challenging tasks. most; the top one being Resilience. Enter, The The children (and adults!) LORIC Family! really responded to Raj and would encourage their It was really exciting to see how abstract concepts peers to “Be like Raj.” could be made concrete for our children, and provide them with skills for life. At the end of the school year, we revamped our During our annual ‘Fitness Fortnight’, Raj Resilience values to coincide with was launched to the whole school. I gave a whole- the LORIC family and in September we officially school assembly where a group of children were launched the characters and introduced Olly given the task of building a tower solely out of Organisation. He was introduced through another newspapers and masking tape. The challenge whole-school assembly. This time two children had was increased when they were then asked to do to compete to find an item, however one desk was this one-handed, and then again while a fan was impeccably organised, and one was definitely not! blowing towards them! With their interest piqued, It fired the children’s interest and they were keen to children from Nursery to Year 6 completed a task learn about how they could become more organised. demonstrating their resilience over the next two weeks. It also tied in with Sports Day, when Raj The results speak for themselves. Over the next six was needed the most during a typical English weeks, children had to complete a task to earn their summer! We had posters of Raj around the school, Olly Organisation certificate. They created lists, top read stories that explored resilience, as well as tips for getting ready for school, and how to present
July 2017 Assembly Launch. Children completing tasks : building a tower out of newspapers, threading beads on a string with eyes closed and sorting cubes with a partner.
4 Our PiXL Edge Journey Forster Park Primary
Each character is not just explored in isolated lessons, but is used in all our learning in every way possible. For example, Year 3 created posters informing Key Stage 1 about the different types of lines and angles. They had to record, organise and present the information in a suitable way. We created stickers to be stuck in children’s maths and English books to show when they demonstrated organisation or communication skills. In each class, there is a LORIC display with all the characters and command words, as well as examples of that attribute. The children enjoy adding to each character and using a command word every day. After a successful launch to the children, our next step was to involve parents and carers. We had a parent learning week where we invited parents and carers to learn about the LORIC family, alongside their children. They completed activities together, learned the command words and took ideas and activities to complete at home. The workshops were a great success and now parents are talking about the LORIC family at home. We also used Charlie Communication during our Year 1 children created High 5 posters with top Anti-Bullying week and our focus was on Cyber tips on being resilient like Raj! Bullying. We discussed our digital footprint and the impact negative words can have online. Year 5 and their work. Olly even 6 took part in a workshop, Year 3 and 4 created helped us collect food puzzle pieces representing themselves, and Year 1 and toiletries for our and 2 learned how to be safe online. local food bank during Harvest. Charlie Communication was even busy with our fantastic and talented choir who learned the After October half term, chorus of ‘True Colours’ in sign language for their Charlie Communication performance at Blackheath Halls in December. The was introduced to children have thoroughly enjoyed learning how to much excitement, and be a better communicators thanks to Charlie, and the children rose to those who were successful were awarded with a the challenge of demonstrating their communication certificate at the end of term. skills. Our Young Governors created a lunch for the Governors (involving both Olly and Charlie), stories Every time the students spot a character, there is a and poems were learned and performed in class, buzz around the school and they are very excited and Key Stage 1 performed a wonderful nativity to learn about Izzy, Raj and Laura – we can’t wait to performance among many others. see what the next year holds! – Rebecca Gonsalves, Leading Edge Co-ordinator, Forster Park Primary School, Lewisham. 5 Our PiXL Edge Journey Forster Park Primary
September We keep our parents and carers informed via our weekly newsletter and our twitter feed.
October We keep our parents and carers informed via our weekly newsletter and our Twitter feed.
6 Our PiXL Edge Journey Forster Park Primary
November We continued to embed the characters with staff, students and parents.
December Forster Park Choir learned the chorus of ‘True Colours’ in sign language demonstrating how music can be communicated to all. They performed on December 6th at Blackheath Halls. We framed A1 posters of each LORIC family member and have displayed in our office and hall.
Top Tips! 1. Discuss with staff which life skills you feel that your children most need 2. Have a trial launch with one particular character (the one that staff agree is most important to your pupils) and set fun, engaging tasks and challenges for children to complete. 3. Make it purposeful. Incorporate the characters into all areas of learning. 4. Invite parents and carers to learn about the LORIC family. 5. Create a learning environment reflecting each character.
7 Launching the Edge Hastings High School
Our journey to the Edge In 2015, we moved from a Key Stage 3 school to an Following a day of action planning (myself and the 11 to 16 secondary school. As a result, much of the Head of Year 7), we took our first steps towards the focus over the last two years has been on ensuring Edge at the start of this academic year. A launch that we are GCSE ready. So, as our first cohort of Year assembly was followed with a balloon launch to which 11s finished their exams, we breathed a sigh of relief pupils attached their ‘Pledge to the Edge’ – some of and decided that it was time to shift our attention to them made it as far as King’s Lynn and our pupils Year 7. Having lived through the stresses and strains loved it! of Year 11 preparing for their GCSEs and supporting them to plan for their life beyond Hastings, it became Since we expect that one of the activities from each clear that we had missed something; for whilst they attribute will be completed outside of school we were ready for their exams, many of them lacked the also held an information evening for parents. The confidence to embark on the next stage of their lives. programme was really well received and we have followed this up with regular updates about pupils’ We therefore made the decision that, rather than progress through our social media sites. leaving character and employability skills to chance, it was time to make them an explicit part of our teaching So far on our journey, all of Year 7 have been learning and our curriculum. As a member of PiXL, it therefore about Leadership. We use the Edge resources in seemed like the perfect opportunity to begin our tutorial every Tuesday, ‘LORIC Tuesday’, and once a journey to the Edge. fortnight pupils work on their activities in tutor period. This has already had a massive impact; for the first We started by attending a couple of the open sessions time at Hastings, every pupil in the year group has in the area. It was interesting to find out about the applied for a leadership role in school and read out different approaches adopted by each school and to loud their application speech. For the tutors and Head hear from the pupils themselves. In terms of planning, it of Year, seeing pupils who would normally be very helped us to realise that we could use the programme to quiet, delivering their speeches to their tutor group, enhance our current provision, rather than change what has been a real highlight. we did completely. Tutors were keen to keep some of our inter-form competitions and fund-raising events, so As some of the following extracts illustrate, pupils we planned these into the Edge. have been able to demonstrate a far greater
8 Launching the Edge Hastings High School
understanding of what it means to be a leader and are starting to self-reflect;
• “I know as a fact that l am not the most confident individual in our form but l would be happy to take time out of my lunch to speak on behalf of all of us and make sure that our points are heard.”
• “I think that l would be the right person for the job because l am a creative thinker and a good listener. Furthermore, we are just beginning our educational journey at Hastings and therefore it is crucial that we work together with teachers to ensure our lessons meet or even exceed our expectations.”
Teachers have been warned! One of the most noticeable changes is that, in contrast to previous elections, voting has not been a ‘popularity contest’. Instead, pupils have made far more considered choices, based on individual leadership qualities. Our pupils are already showing us what it means to have the Edge.
It is still early days for the Hastings Edge but it is So, if you are considering the journey, but still need already creating a buzz around the school and has a bit of a push to get started, here is a line taken given the Year 7 tutorial team a real sense of purpose. from one of the applications to become an Edge In order to maintain the momentum, we will be holding Ambassador, “Not all schools have the exciting a celebration assembly at the end of each half term opportunity to be involved in the Edge programme - and will be training up our recently elected Edge we should see it as awesome and new; it will have a Ambassadors to launch the programme next year. massive impact on our chances in life.” Enough said. – Claire Bradley,Deputy Headteacher, Hastings High School, Burbage, Leicestershire.
9 School success Hounsdown School
Jumping over the...Edge “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Theodore Geisel
At Hounsdown School on the edge of the New Forest, Theodore Geisel describes our situation perfectly. our School motto is “Be the Best You Can Be”. This All young people have the innate ability to stand fits perfectly with the philosophy and aims of the out from the crowd. They just need to find the Edge programme. We have an ethos where we aim: opportunity. It seems to be natural in education to want to teach students with developing and enquiring • To develop confident individuals who seize minds, students wanting to learn and improve within opportunities to develop their potential. and beyond the curriculum. From our starting point in January 2017 when the Edge was introduced to our • To encourage responsible citizens who work Year 7 students, this has once again proved to be the together towards achieving social responsibility and case. excellence. We want our students to shine, to stand out from the crowd, to be proud of who they are.
Introducing a completely new system of student leadership into a large secondary academy was a daunting prospect. It was therefore decided to introduce the Edge as a rolling programme. The LORIC process was, in reality, more easily justifiable to 263 students at a time.
In January 2017 it was launched with the new intake (now Year 8). It was then launched to our September 2017 cohort in October and our Year 9s will start the programme in the New Year. This has made the introduction manageable, sustainable and solidly embedded within the mind-set of the current Year 7-8 student body.
Hounsdown School prides itself on its culture of rewarding success, effort and perseverance. We believe in rewarding positive attitude, achievement, responsibility and behaviour. This culture can only succeed in an environment of mutual support amongst all staff and students. The Edge allows us to develop and nurture these qualities.
Rapidly the students grasped the concept and ‘bought into’ the Edge with an eagerness that was rewarding as well as satisfying. The barrage of questions starting with “Can I…” and “Am I able to…” was a positive start. When responding to questions
“During the completion of my PixLEdge Apprentice level I enjoyed many things. Particularly the opportunity to focus on skills outside of the curricular subjects. Completing my chosen tasks had a huge impact on my confidence and knowledge towards life skills”. Ella Drake - 8KN
10 School success Hounsdown School
“I chose to do an assembly on the environment with the Hounsdown Eco Team. It was scary enough to do it in front of the year below me, but I also did one for the year above. Naturally I was very nervous, but I felt the experience was really valuable for me and improved my public speaking skills”. Alexander Davies - 9EW
like this I developed a no-barriers approach. The easy justifying The Edge to their Senior Management. reaction to many questions is to reply with “Have you considered… ” and “What happens if…”. I changed From this I have been inspired to create an my own mind-set and have started answering with a Opportunities Board. I have tried hard to sell The simple “Yes…” and “Let’s see what happens…” which Edge to all staff, particularly tutors. Although The I find a refreshing change, and so do the students. Edge stretches beyond school, our students still They now discover their own problems and develop perceive school as its main forum. The Opportunities solutions to progress beyond them. Board will be a means of communicating possible chances to apply any one of the LORIC attributes. Three of our Edge Apprentices have recently Students I found are hesitant to explore chances or delivered a justification for the investment in The to find opportunities so I decided to take the first step Edge to our Governing Body. Twenty adults, both for them. parents Governors and members of the local community, plus Trust members were present. In I will be emailing or asking staff in one of our preparation for the presentation the students were weekly briefings to let me know if there may be any given access to any resources they required. They opportunities for students to be involved in any were then tasked with independently creating the activity that could help them work towards any of presentation. the LORIC tasks. These opportunities will be then posted on the board. The information will be brief, but I had implicit trust in their ability and they did not then the students will know that they can approach disappoint. I was allowed to view the presentation a member of staff knowing that there may be a task and resources a few days before the FGB when they can make their own. I firmly believe that this is they presented to staff representatives from Crofton still well within the spirit of The Edge as all I am going School, Fareham, who were in the process of Continued on next page ➤
11 School success Hounsdown School
Continued from previous page ➤ to stand out and be successful, and fulfil their potential, is in their own hands. PiXLEdge and the LORIC to do is to highlight where they can ask, the rest will process has given them the opportunity to find success be up to them. What other opportunities they seek at Hounsdown School. It is a joy to see them grasp, beyond school remain completely up to them. understand, apply and then achieve.
I started this article with “Why fit in when you were Our students have jumped to The Edge. They are born to stand out?” All young people are born with currently balancing, and many still have to conquer it. potential: a potential to inspire, to lead, to organise, I have no doubt that they will. to be resilient, to have initiative, and to communicate effectively. We can give them the tools for success and http://www.hounsdown.hants.sch.uk/PixLEdge/ we can show them the opportunities that are theirs for [email protected] the taking. In the end the belief that they can and want [email protected] – Rick Deadman, Leading Edge Co-ordinator, Hounsdown School, Hampshire.
eted their activity, they can Each After the student has compl
send it to their teacher who can verify the activity. ( to student has their own login and every ). activity they school’s students Progress Bar is an organisation for complete adds to their PiXL Edge in an essential students’ five key attributes This is the develop and achieve university, employment and general Progress Bar. Every preparation for activity completed life. and verified by their teacher
appears here. The
colour corresponds level, which with the colour of • A certificate at completion of each one of the is recognised nationally. attributes. Once • An interactive icon (digibadge), which records The Three Main Levels: , Apprentice this bar is filled Pixl details of their achievements online.
PiXL Edge also has three main levels. These are difficulty; Edge will move that • Optional buttons and achievement badges PiXL Edge also has . (These levels increase in three main levels. Masters These . (These are levels and MastersGraduate and GraduateApprentice, student onto their available for purchase. fewer activities to complete.) however there are increase in difficulty, however there are less activities to next level.
complete.) To complete a level, the student must complete a minimum
of two activities from each of the 5 attributes. A student To complete a level, the student must complete to do, set a a
must type up a plan on what they are going minimum of two activities from each of the 5 attributes. and then complete the task. The Target Completion Date A student must type up a plan on what they are going to and then complete the student must then evaluate their task and send this to their do, set a Target Completion Date is equally as important as Self Evaluation teacher. This is equally as task. The student must then evaluate their task and send Self Evaluation completing the activity as it allows the student to reflect on this to their teacher. This their work and see how they could have used a better important as completing the activity Box whe as re student types up it allows the method. student to reflect on their work and see how they could what they plan to do. • PiXL Edge gives students the Edge over their a better method. have used competitors when seeking employment. Box where student sets their • PiXL Edge allows students to think more Target Completion Date. systematically and aids students with attributes (Date can be altered). that will help them throughout their life. • This scheme will develop student’s self-
Box where student types up confidence and the 5 attributes.
their Self Evaluation. (There is • PiXL Edge gives students a framework which helpful information below if enables them to develop and improve in these they are stuck. important life skills. Frequently Asked Question:
How are other key skills, for example teamwork, ncorporated into PiXL Edge? Many of the activities within one of the attributes, for example Leadership, can enable a student with other skills. For example, if a student was leading a team in a sport for one of their activities, they would be improving in their Teamwork and so would their team. How do you encourage people to take part in Pixl Edge? We explain to students how Pixl Edge will hugely benefit them in the future.
“I have not only progressed in my LORIC skills, but have also progressed in my confidence in communicating, corresponding and presenting to adults. I also believe it has assisted in my personal development with skills I may need in the future at University and employment”. Emma Langford - 9EW.
“I really like that teachers can log on and see what you are doing. It allows them to give you advice on the activities you have selected”. Millie Haynes – 8BM.
12 Launching The Edge Crawshaw Academy
Letting students lead the way! so many students keen to be involved.
We launched the first PiXL Edge Club this half term and our Year 10s led the first session on the skill of Communication. It was decided that it would be good to get the students thinking about what is meant by the term ‘communication’ as well as getting to know each other. They developed a range of activities including:
The team of Year 10 volunteers at Crawshaw • A competition to see how many forms of Academy, Pudsey, have been working hard over communication each team could come up with (one the last half term ready to launch PiXL Edge with a team got 50!) volunteer group of Year 8 and 9 students, and are developing their leadership skills at a wonderful • No eye contact or verbal communication was pace! Miss Turner, Leading Edge Co-ordinator, allowed and students from different year groups had explains more… to interact with people they’d never met before. As part of our PiXL Edge launch, we decided that it • Students were blindfolded and led around an would be nice for some of our Key Stage 4 students obstacle course by their peers and were only to have the opportunity to help lead and develop the permitted to communicate verbally. programme. A group of Year 10 students who already The students absolutely loved it! The organisation work as ‘ambassadors’ for the school were asked if and leadership shown by the Year 10 students was they wanted the opportunity and they astounded us outstanding and the whole group cannot wait for the with their response – not only were they really keen to next meeting. be involved, but they brought friends along who were desperate to be involved too! Already our Year 10 leaders are planning how they will launch the Edge to our Year 7 students These students have worked with me over the last after Christmas – it’s an exciting time at Crawshaw month to help develop the programme ready for its Academy. launch. They also went into Year 8 and 9 forms to promote the programme. We decided as a school that we would like to launch the programme with a smaller group of Year 8 and 9s (led by the Year 10s) before we decided to launch it as part of our curriculum with Year 7. The idea was that the students involved in this initial group would become ambassadors for the Edge and would work with staff when launching it with the Year 7s in their timetabled PiXL lesson.
Again our students’ motivation and interest impressed us! We had planned to start with a group of twenty or so Year 8 and 9s but so many were interested that we now have well over 40. We run this as a club every Tuesday after school and it is lovely to see – Megan Turner, Crawshaw Academy, Pudsey.
13 LORIC values The City of Leicester College
Why I love LORIC! how to bounce back when things are not going to plan. I have also been able to support my friends in becoming better at this attribute. Although it is true that grades in exams are important in securing our future, we also need to be able to display a range of other skills in order to remain competitive and to progress in whatever career we choose. The Edge has put me on a pedestal and allowed me to develop my ability to communicate ideas and plan events in a way that is not taught within normal lessons. I would even go as far as to say that it has changed my views on education. Of course I have to work hard to get the best grades possible, but it will be the LORIC attributes that allow me to use them, long after I have left school. These are the skills that will make me ‘stand out’. I have always had my heart set on becoming a Before being introduced to the PiXL Edge scheme, teacher, and feel that the Edge has started me I wasn’t very outgoing, or even the type of person on this journey. I really did not know the first to stand out. I didn’t apply for a place on the thing about taking the lead, being in charge and Student Council because I wanted a change and holding responsibility. The attributes have broken when the video explaining exactly what the PiXL every element down for me and I have become so Edge scheme involved, I knew instantly that this much more confident as a result. was something I wanted to be involved in. When I heard that the Edge would make you ‘stand out’ I recognise that there is a lot of work ahead of and develop my character, I was hooked! me, but as someone who is now used to leading LORIC Leader meetings, organising my team I have always loved interacting with others in of leaders for Open Evenings/PiXL Edge Open and out of school and so the LORIC leader role Day events, as well as well as inducting our new became one that I wanted to perform. I knew that wave of LORIC Leaders in Year 7, I really am I could make a difference to how the different developing my skill-set on a daily basis. attributes were presented to my tutor group. Creating presentations, speeches, competitions are all things that I naturally enjoy doing too! Being a LORIC leader has helped me to become more confident in talking to people whom I don’t really know; a skill that will be extremely useful during interviews for colleges or for jobs in the future. My resilience has definitely improved, as I used to become frustrated and give up. However, the selection of activities on offer have taught me
– Zarah Mangera, Year 8 Student, The City of Leicester College.
14 Transition The City of Leicester College
Supporting transition at The City of Leicester College In late November, The City of Leicester College Eco-Workshops during the day, with staff hosted an Eco Roadshow for students of local from the visiting primary schools being highly primary schools. The focus of the day was to complimentary about their professionalism and promote various forms of sustainable living. The attitude. Taking on leadership roles during their visiting primary students took part in a range of first term at secondary school has really helped exciting workshops led by staff from specialist the LORIC Leaders to develop key LORIC skills. agencies such as Anglian Water, Leicester and Rutland Wildlife Trust, and Leicester City A number of the visiting primary schools were Council. the former schools of our LORIC Leaders, so provided our Year 7s with a fantastic Eight Year 7 LORIC Leaders from The City opportunity to give something back to their of Leicester College helped to facilitate the previous schools. – Patrick McLintock, Head of Year 7, The City of Leicester College.
15 Launching the Edge Waterhead Academy
Successful launch of PiXL Edge at Waterhead Academy Students in Year 7 at Waterhead Academy Students at the academy have also begun to embarked upon the PiXL Edge programme of identify and undertake their respective LORIC- study during the current academic year. The based challenges, focusing upon a range of launch of the programme has proved to have activities including delivering presentations been a huge success with students undertaking about how they have demonstrated resilience weekly PiXL Edge lessons focusing upon the five either at school or within their personal life, LORIC principles of Leadership, Organisation, actively participating in a tutor group mental Resilience, Initiative and Communication. health awareness campaign, contributed to a year group community project as well as being During the first term, students have studied the provided with the opportunity to complete LORIC principles of Resilience and Leadership. LORIC challenges throughout a variety of Students have researched and discussed subject areas within the academy. how famous people from a wide range of backgrounds have demonstrated resilience and Waterhead Academy places careers provision leadership throughout their careers in order to at the centre of its curriculum and has recently reach the top of their respective professions. been acknowledged for its outstanding careers provision with the awarding of The Careers Role-models such as the world-renowned Quality Standard Award. Assistant Principal, basketball player, Michael Jordan, and the Neil Wilson, is the academy’s Leading Edge multi-award winning author, J.K Rowling, have Co-ordinator (LEC) and fully endorses the PiXL been used as examples to inspire students to Edge programme of study. He believes that the achieve their personal best and develop integral implementation of the PiXL Edge programme employability skills. was a natural progression for the Oldham-based
16 Launching the Edge Waterhead Academy TH E
academy to further build upon the successes of The open days at the two its current careers provision. schools were both expertly Mr Wilson attended two previous Edge open delivered and extremely days at Hope Academy in Liverpool and motivating. It was excellent to Boston Spa School in West Yorkshire, prior to Waterhead Academy launching the PiXL Edge see students participating in programme. the Edge programme of study. Mr Wilson commented: “The open days at the two schools were both expertly delivered and Staff at both schools spoke extremely motivating. It was excellent to see with enthusiasm and about students participating in the Edge programme of the supportive network of study. other schools who participate “Staff at both schools spoke with enthusiasm in the Edge programme and and about the supportive network of other schools who participate in the Edge programme this ultimately made it a and this ultimately made it a straightforward straightforward decision to decision to enrol for the forthcoming academic enrol for the forthcoming year.” academic year.”
Principal, James Haseldine, added” “PiXL Edge is a no brainer. It is a superb programme, with great resources and inspiring content.” Such has been the positive outcomes since the launch of the PiXL Edge programme, Waterhead Academy has been identified as a leading PiXL Edge school and will host its first PiXL Edge open day in February 2018. Mr Wilson is keen to work collaboratively with fellow PiXL Edge schools to further develop and share elements of good practice, as well as offering support or advice to schools considering implementing the PiXL Edge programme. Please feel free to contact him via e-mail at [email protected]. – Neil Wilson, Leading Edge Co-ordinator, Waterhead Academy.
17 Launching The Edge Roundhay School
PiXL Pilots come to the Edge… and take off! Roundhay School in Leeds became interested What was your favourite task? in joining PiXL Edge towards the end of the Siyaam: I managed a small team on enterprise summer term 2017 after a visit to Boston Spa day and I also represented my form. and a meeting with Regional Co-ordinator, Jeanette Craig. Pupils from each of the Year 8 Priya: We enjoyed making a joke book. forms volunteered to trial the Edge, spending the last six weeks learning about the 5 attributes Mithil: Making the movie!
18 Launching The Edge Roundhay School
Anu: I had to use my initiative during filming, as my of the LORIC goals encouraged me to achieve. It partner Rosie was absent on day one of the shoot. inspired me to be the best I could be and to try new A section which had been written as a question things, even if I was a bit out of my comfort zone. and answer had to be quickly adapted to become a monologue. Rosie: When I saw my friends’ achievements it made me want to do as well as them. We got a bit Annie: The whole challenge was about competitive and we tried to do better each time. communications. To promote the Edge we had to ensure that the message was clear, that we were How do you feel about launching the clear and that we clearly explained what the Edge is. Edge to the Year 7s? Euan: Confident, because it’s such a good thing Why do you think we need to that we know they’ll enjoy it. introduce the Edge at Roundhay? If they can improve their skills like we have, George: We want to improve our skills because Annie: we know it will help us when we are students and then it can only be a good thing. When we deliver later in life when we are employed. And having the the first assembly I will be nervous, but seeing as chance to have lessons about the LORIC attributes we will do it as a team, I’m sure it will be okay. will be really helpful. George: Forget okay. It’s going to be great! Euan: It will help students build their skills and Roundhay School, in North Leeds, is a larger develop confidence and self-esteem. than average, all-through school with over 2000 students on the roll. The number of students from Do you prefer working alone or in minority ethnic backgrounds is well above average groups? with a high proportion having English as an George: I prefer working in a group so we can additional language. Roundhay School was graded share our ideas, but I do find it challenging outstanding in November 2013. because it’s not always easy to listen to someone Ofsted says: “Roundhay School is all about its else’s views. It’s important to listen to all the views students. Staff ensure that each one, regardless of and sometimes I forget that. Working together can background or ability, is given every opportunity to be challenging – and good. shine.” How did it make you feel? PiXL Edge is being launched at Roundhay in Anu: I felt really motivated because the clear outcome January 2018. – Bev Brining, Leading Edge Co-ordinator, Roundhay School, Leeds. 19 PiXL Wellbeing Conference round-up
Mental health and wellbeing conference On Friday 6th October 2017, The Priory School (Hitchin, North Herts) held its second annual mental health and wellbeing conference for local secondary schools. This year, the conference was hugely popular and attracted over 20 schools across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and even one school from North London! The conference was organised and led by Katie Southall (Assistant Headteacher at The Priory School) and Kieran Murphy (Director of the local charity, Phase). The aim of the conference was to offer schools and practitioners practical strategies and and they spent the day moving to different workshops guidance around mental health awareness. that were tailored to the student or teacher audience. All delegates were given a choice of four workshops This year, the theme of the conference was resilience. to attend and booked their choice of sessions ahead This is a word that appears a lot in educational of the conference. literature and we are constantly bombarded with the need to “make our children more resilient”, but The day started with a key note speech from Dr Kate what does that mean and what does it look like? As a Middleton on the teenage brain. This set the tone for result, the conference was designed to enable staff the conference perfectly as Kate offered an insight and students to explore this concept further. Both into the workings of the teen mind – something that to teachers and students were invited to the conference many of us, is something of a mystery!
20 PiXL Wellbeing Conference round-up
Delegates then attended their first breakout session. The conference ended with a keynote speech from There were a range of sessions on offer throughout Kieran Murphy (Director of Phase) about developing the day such as teen yoga, mindfulness, changing our own resilience. This captured the essence of the mindsets, drawing and talking therapy, growing conference perfectly. Then, there was a Q&A session resilience, teen brain training, and more. Later in the with a panel of experts: day we also offered staff a session on staff wellbeing and resilience. Often, we talk about student resilience • Katie Southall, Assistant headteacher at The and wellbeing, but we forget staff. It is vital that if we Priory School are to successfully encourage and foster resilient • Dr Kate Middleton, psychologist and author children, that we have a resilient staff also. • Justin Haroun, the centre of resilience At lunch time, delegates had an opportunity to explore • Dr Marie Polley, University of Westminster the market place. This was where a range of charities, service providers and mental health experts were The audience was given an opportunity to pose on hand to share their knowledge and offer schools questions to the panel in order to ensure that they the support that they need. In attendance were a left the conference with no unanswered questions or number of organisations such as Samaritans, Youth misconceptions. Connexions, School Nursing, The Wellbeing Team, Katie and Kieran are now looking forward to Phase, Emporium (staff wellbeing), Cookery Eatery, planning and preparing the next conference for NESSIE, and much more! In total, there were over 25 October 2018. I wonder what the next theme will stalls in the market place ready and willing to share be… their knowledge, expertise and resources.
Join us in celebrating your students’ success! There is a quote floating around on the internet that of special awards, as well as performances says: ‘How you make others feel, says a lot about from Edge students. who you are’. Twee it may be, but we also think it’s true. Schools are invited to bring up to ten students who have completed either the Apprentice, Graduate or We want our schools and our students to feel Masters level. Other than having completed a level, confident, encouraged and motivated, and that it is completely up to the school to decide which is why we believe celebrating key milestones students should be brought along. is so important for both staff and students. We don’t believe that celebration should be an You can reserve your school’s place at the after thought at the end of a programme, but an celebration events now, via the PiXL website. important part of the Edge process. Celebration dates: To that end, we extend to you an invitation to join 29th June – Darrick Wood School, Bromley us at one of our five regional Edge celebration 2nd July – Wellington School, Manchester events in the summer term. 5th July – Plympton Academy, We ran four celebrations last year, and Plymouth they were wonderful events that gave staff 6th July – The City of Leicester and students an opportunity to reflect and College, Leicester appreciate all that they had achieved that year. 9th July – Horbury Academy, There were awards presentations, and a number Wakefield
21 PiXL Wellbeing Droitwich Spa High School
Empowering our students Our PiXL Wellbeing journey began with a drive up the M5 to the Wellbeing Conference held by Caroline Sidell. Tasked with finding out more about wellbeing and its impact on our young people, I first of all needed to answer the question of what the word ‘wellbeing’ actually means. I found it difficult to get past trigger phrases such as ‘healthy eating’ and ‘exercise.’ I entered the room with some trepidation as I had very little idea as to what wellbeing is. After very little time at the conference, it became clear to me that we were missing out on addressing something which fundamentally affects every facet of the lives of our young people. It was extremely beneficial to have time to not only receive expert advice, but also to share ideas with in tutor time where students and staff can discuss colleagues from other schools and phases. I found important wellbeing issues. Year 8 use the My Health out about apps and organisations I’d never heard of, resources, Year 9 use the My Life resources, Year but which could be very useful. 10 and 11 use the My Mind resources, Year 12 use the PiXL6 My Health resources and Year 13 use the I walked away from the session, not with the PiXL6 My Mind resources. The feedback from tutors occasional feelings of disappointment that courses has been great. They’ve really appreciated having tend to inflict, but instead with a feeling of positivity, time each week to have discussions with students determined to make changes which could impact not about something which is incredibly important to their only outcomes for students, but their day-to-day lives. development. It has also helped new tutors get to know their groups well very quickly. What has also As a result of our work, we have now initiated the been of great help is that each session finishes with following: some suggested PiXL Edge activities. This has been • A dedicated Wellbeing Hub within our Student particularly helpful for students who find choosing an Voice group which focuses on students empowering activity a challenge. each other. They are in the process of putting • Our PE department has created a ‘Sports Week’ together a wellbeing questionnaire which will be at the end of each half-term, whereby all our extra- carried out with all members of the student body, curricular clubs become House competitions for which should give us a much clearer picture as to the the week. This allows us to further publicise the needs of students under our remit. opportunities students have available to them to • Our catering team have assisted in the launch of become more active and also encourage higher a healthy choices system, whereby students receive levels of participation by adding in an element of points for making more sensible choices at break collective responsibility. and lunch time. At the end of each half term, the In short, we are delighted with the initial guidance we five students with the highest number of points are received from PiXL, the continued support we have rewarded with a free meal. received and also where this has led us in terms of • Using the fantastic resources created by Caroline, empowering students to take confident responsibility we now have a dedicated 20-minute slot each week for something which has the power to shape their whole life. – Conor Delaney, Leading Edge Co-ordinator, Droitwich Spa High School, Worcestershire
22 PiXL Edge Open days
Edge open days – coming to a school near you! To enable any school to see what the Edge entails In sum, these sessions are a brilliant way of seeing and how it looks in practice, Edge Ambassador the Edge in action as well as sharing best practice! schools host Open Sessions which continue to receive great feedback from delegates who report that they There is a small per delegate fee of £15+VAT to attend appreciate the visualisation and contextualisation these sessions, which goes towards the host school. delivered through these sessions. We are always on the lookout for more host Delegates see in detail how a PiXL Edge school has schools, so if you are interested in implemented the programme into their daily structure becoming an ambassador school, then through a presentation from the Leading Edge Coordinator please do get in touch. (LEC) and are able to engage with the children If you have any questions at all about participating, and hear their views on the programme. the Edge Open Sessions, please These sessions are equally suited to schools who contact Amy Holder: have already signed up to the programme as they are [email protected] to those who are considering delivering a more systematic approach to character development.
UPCOMING EDGE OPEN DAYS 2018 DATE SCHOOL NAME 24th January Cantell School, Hampshire 26th January Manor High School, Leicestershire 1st February Waterhead Academy, Oldham 1st February Charters School, Berkshire 5th February Hope Academy, Merseyside 6th February Droitwich Spa High School, Worcestershire 7th February Boston Spa, West Yorkshire 7th February Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College, Manchester 9th February Horbury Academy, West Yorkshire 16th February Manor High School, Leicestershire 23rd February Applemore College, Hampshire
23 Want to share your experiences? Email [email protected] with any tips, advice, strategies and success stories from your school and we will try to include them all in the next edition.
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